Buhari condemns IDPs’ camp blast, orders tighter security

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies to beef up security in all camps harboring internally displaced persons in the country to guard against the recurrence of the blast at the displaced person’s camp in Yola, Adamawa state on Friday.

The President condemned as heinous and cowardly, the bomb blast in the Malkohi camp which resulted in loss of seven lives.

A statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, said that the terrorists were bent on causing fear and panic among the populace by detonating bombs within soft spots where hapless citizens reside.

He encouraged members of the public to not be deterred “but rise in unison to root out whatever is left of the terrorists in our midst.”

Buhari said, “We must not let the desperate and evil-minded criminals have any respite. There’s now an urgent need for all to, by paying utmost attention to security issues at all levels – home, work, market, places of worship, schools, defeat terrorism.”

APC govs on assets: We won’t follow Buhari’s example

Some APC governors

Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress have said they will not follow the example laid by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in declaring their assets publicly.

The governors, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH, said it is not compulsory for them to declare their assets publicly and that they would not be pressured to follow the president’s action.

According to them, there is no law mandating the governors to publicly state their worth in terms of property and cash.

Buhari and Osinbajo last week made a public declaration of their assets with the former stating that he had declared his assets four times since 1975.

The President had said, “I recall that in 1975 when the late Murtala Mohammed became the Head of State, we were lined up in the corridor – governors, ministers, members of the Supreme Military Council – and officials of the Ministry of Justice were brought and every individual was made to declare his assets.

“So right now, all heads of state and government, governors, ministers, and permanent secretaries will have to declare their assets because it is a constitutional requirement.”

However, one week after Buhari and Osinbajo declared their assets, the APC governors said they were only required to make details of their properties known to the Code of Conduct Bureau and not the public.

The Plateau State Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong, told one of our correspondents that it was not his responsibility to publish his assets, but that of the CCB.

While claiming that his assets declaration form is with the CCB, Lalong said that all that the law required was for him to declare his assets before the CCB, adding that the law did not mandate him to make them public.

He said, “I have declared my assets as required by the law and it is left for the Code of Conduct Bureau to publish it. I don’t think that the law makes it mandatory for me to publish my assets. Anybody who wants to know should approach the bureau for the form I filled and submitted to it.”

Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, will also not declare his assets publicly. He alleged that those asking him to declare his assets were the supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, who were bent on frustrating his administration as a result of the shock the party suffered during the last general elections.

Okorocha said, “I will not rule the people of the state by public opinion. There were no calls for declaration of assets during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.”

He advised Nigerians not to use the APC’s “change” promise against the party in whatever way.

Okorocha, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuamado, told one of our correspondents that the declaration of assets by Buhari was a welcome development, but added that it was an individual’s decision.

He said, “This is an individual thing. Governor Okorocha believes he is a second-term governor, he is not a new governor that should be declaring assets. Meanwhile, there is no law that says governors should declare their assets.

“When former President Goodluck Jonathan was in power, who talked about declaration of assets? What President Buhari has done is a good thing, but it is not mandatory.”

Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, also said he would be the last person to make details of his assets public.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Public Affairs,, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said, “My governor has said while it is constitutional for public officers to declare their assets, making it public is not a matter enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

“Every public officer is bound to declare, but the idea of making it public is not in the constitution.”

A Government House source told one of our correspondents that the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, was not ready for public declaration of his assets since he had sent details of his worth both in physical property and cash to the CCB.

The media aide to the governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, also said, “The constitution does not state that the governor should declare his asset publicly. I know that the governor has declared his assets to the CCB.”

The media aide said, “The governor has met all the necessary constitutional requirements.”

The Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, who spoke on behalf of Governor Ibikunle Amosun, stressed that public declaration of assets is not statutory.

Similarly, the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, said no law compelled him to declare his assets publicly.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ibraheem Dooba, said his boss has declared his assets as the law stipulates and has submitted his assets declaration form to the CCB.

“The governor said he declared his assets before being sworn in and no law compels him to make his assets public.”

Also, the Special Adviser to Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, Mallam Isa Gusau, said the governor had not held any discussion on the public declaration of his assets.

The same is true for the Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje.

His Director of Press and Publicity, Baba Dantiye, said in a text message to Saturday PUNCH that the governor had yet to discuss the matter with him.

In Nassarawa State, Governor Tanko Al-makura has remained silent on the issue of public declaration of his assets.

His Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Tukur Ahmed, also refused to speak for the governor on the governor’s asset declaration.”

A similar situation exists in Adamawa State where Senator Jibrilla Bindow holds sway.

The governors’ supporters, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it was not the requirement of the law for anyone to make a public declaration of his assets.

One of them said, “It is a personal decision of the governor to choose to make his assets and liabilities public.

“However, he has complied with the law by filling and submitting his assets declaration forms with the CCB.”

Attempts to speak with the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yohanna Mathias, failed as he neither picked his telephone nor responded to the text messages sent to him as of the time of filing this report.

Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, has also yet to publicly declare his assets.

His Senior Special Adviser on Media, Imam Imam, said he was in transit when one of our correspondents asked him when his principal would publicly declare his assets.

It was gathered that the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, would not declare his assets publicly.

“Governor Ajimobi has already made his assets public through the Code of Conduct Bureau before the last general elections,” a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told one of our correspondents on Friday in Ibadan.

The source added, “Ajimobi made his assets known twice – in 2011 and 2015 – before the governorship elections which he contested and won. He did this because he has nothing to hide.”

His Lagos State counterpart, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, is also not planning to make his assets public.

A senior government official who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the governor had complied with what the law stipulates. He said, “There is no moral reason for the governor to make his assets public.

“He did not promise to do so during his campaigns. Buhari made it a campaign issue and he has fulfilled his promise.”

A social commentator and policy analyst based in Lagos, Dr. Anthonia Orji, said it was necessary for the governors to follow in the footsteps of President Buhari.

She said it would go a long way in telling Nigerians that their administrations embrace transparency.

She noted that the actions of Buhari and Osinbajo had in some way proved to Nigerians that the duo had no tolerance for corruption.

She said, “Fighting corruption starts with transparency and truthfulness. That is what Buhari and Osinbajo have done. They are telling the world that they have nothing to hide.

“They are not afraid to be questioned and criticised, which are good things for the country to move forward.

Explosion kills seven, injures 20 at Yola IDP camp

The National Emergency Management Agency on Friday confirmed a bomb explosion at a school at the Malkohi Camp of the internally displaced persons in Yola, Adamawa State.

The agency said seven persons were killed while 20 were injured as a result of the explosion that occurred around 10.50am.

It added that seven of the injured had been treated and discharged at the Federal Medical Centre in Yola while the remaining 13 persons, including four NEMA officials, were still on admission at the hospital.

The explosion would be the first of such attack on an IDP camp in the North-East.

Though no information had been made available about the perpetrators of the act, there are indications it might have been carried out by the Boko Haram insurgent group.

Boko Haram has in a six-year period displaced thousands of people in the North-East, while killing other thousands as a result of its activities.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said on Twitter that he was saddened by the incident and condemned those behind the attack.

He said, “I’m deeply saddened by the bombing incident at the Yola IDP camp today. Only persons with hearts of evil could do this. The Yola IDP camp is the largest in Nigeria, and is a refuge to the thousands of people who fled the insurgency from mostly Borno and Yobe.

“Many people I know were working as volunteers in the camp, including staff and students of American University of Nigeria, who sustained minor injuries from the blast.

“Today’s attack is an attempt to break the spirits of the people who came to seek refuge. The perpetrators will know no peace. We refuse to be broken. We will win the war against terrorism. We shall overcome!”

Adamawa State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ahmed Sajoh, also told journalists that seven persons were killed by the explosion.

It was learnt from one of the camp’s residents, Abubakar Sani, that two female suicide bombers detonated the bomb that led to the killings.

Sajoh, however, said the state governor, Muhammadu Bindow, had directed the state emergency management agency to foot the medical bills of the injured.

He said among those killed was a toddler, adding that those on humanitarian service were not spared by the suicide bombers.

N600bn debt: Contractors abandon Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, 183 others

Contractors handling over 184 federal road projects have abandoned the various sites due to lack of funding from the Federal Government and the huge debt owed them by the Federal Ministry of Works.

Saturday PUNCH reliably learnt that following the decisions of the contractors to abandon the sites, N1.76trn federal road projects across the country had suffered setback.

The amount is the total cost of ongoing federal road projects across the six geo-political zones of the country.

The President, Federation of Construction Industry, the umbrella body for construction companies, Mr. Solomon Ogunbusola, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said all federal roads that had not been completed had been abandoned.

The contractors said they were owed over N600bn, adding that although part of the sum was owed by state and local governments, over 80 per cent of the amount was owed by the Federal Government.

This, according to them, was largely the reason why they decided to abandon the various project sites across the country.

They explained that their decision was not in protest against the government, but was purely because they could not function without funds.

The contractors could not state the exact number of ongoing federal road projects abandoned across the country, but findings showed that 184 projects were classified as ongoing by the Federal Government as at September 2014.

The North-Central Zone had 29 projects with a total length of 1,201.81km and a cost of N294bn; North-East had 26 projects, 1,219.65km long and cost N314bn; North-West had 20 projects, 1,040.22km long and cost N188bn; while the South-East had 45 projects stretching 1,251.4km with a worth of N357bn.

The South-South had 33 ongoing projects, 739.57km long costing N245bn; while the number of ongoing projects in the South-West was put at 31, stretching 1,072.63km at a total cost of N365bn.

The total number of ongoing projects at the time this report was done by the FMW in September 2014 was 184, and the projects were meant to cover a cumulative length of 6,525.63km across the country at a total cost of N1.765tn.

We are owing banks –Contractors

Explaining why they abandoned the various sites where they work, Ogunbusola told one of our correspondents that the contractors had no fund to work with.

He said, “All federal roads awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works that have not been completed have been abandoned. They have not paid anybody anything, let alone improving our payments. That is why we are not on sites. Maybe by the time the President forms his cabinet, we will start getting payments. It could be possible that the President wants the ministers to handle the matter. We are owing a lot of banks, so how can we work when we are not paid? Virtually all contractors have to abandon project sites.

“It is not that we are protesting against government policies or its anti-corruption crusade, we are only waiting for our payments. As soon as contractors get their payments, you will see that infrastructural development will pick up. We are happy with this administration’s policies, but the truth is that we have not been paid and there is no way we can go back to site when we don’t have money to pay workers after the construction industry has already laid off close to 10,000 employees due to issues of funding.”

Many roads are less than 30 per cent completed –Investigation

Further findings showed that as at September last year, only seven federal road projects out of the 51 contracts awarded in 2013 had recorded up to 40 per cent completion. Many of the projects were far less than 30 per cent completed.

In fact, one of the projects, the construction of Jarmai Basha Road in Plateau State, was zero per cent complete even after it was awarded in 2013. Many others had similar stories as they were less than 10 per cent completed one year after they were awarded.

Major projects like the reconstruction and expansion of the two sections of the Lagos-Ibadan dual carriageway, which passes through Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states, were only 11 and eight per cent completed, according to the ministry.

Also the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the two sections of the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway in Abia State were just eight and 3.5 per cent completed after being awarded one year earlier.

These project sites and many others had been abandoned by contractors working on them due to paucity of funds from the Federal Government.

In the Federal Capital Territory, virtually all sites that used to have heavy construction work on them about four months ago have been abandoned.

For instance, contractors like Julius Berger, CCECC, Dantata & Sawoe, as well as many others had stopped work on project sites like the Lugbe-Airport road, the bridge linking Byazhim and Kubwa market, the major bridge linking the central business district with Nyanya, and many others in the FCT.

Ogunbusola further explained that although the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan gave out many contracts, it did not pay for most of the jobs, a development that had made many construction firms distressed.

some abandoned roads

When asked to state specifically the amount owed construction companies across the country, he replied, “It is over N600bn. I can mention over three companies that were owed over N200bn. The financial director of Julius Berger said at their AGM that they were being owed over N90bn. And out of the N90bn, over N70bn is owed by the Federal Government.

“MCC is owed over N70bn too, Setraco over N80bn. So all the companies are being owed. Even Dantata, they owe them and I will not tell you what I don’t know. How can you continue to owe all these companies? For over a year or two years now, we have never had it so bad! Because the payments are not coming, we don’t know what to do. We cannot carry placards.”

A senior official with one of the major construction firms confided in one of our correspondents that it was unfortunate that the government was faced with so much financial challenges.

He stressed that the sector would collapse if the government failed to pay the companies.

The official who pleaded not to be named, as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said, “Over 10,000 workers have been retrenched as a result of this challenge. We are aware that the President is complaining, but the truth is that he has to sort out the issue in the construction sector if he doesn’t want this industry to collapse.

“We cannot go back to site, go back to do what when you have no money to work on projects? It is beyond begging us to return to work. They (government) have to show some seriousness, pay your contractors and work will commence on the projects.”

Ministry, contractors meet over abandoned projects

When contacted, officials of the FMW told one of our correspondents that the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kigbu, met with major contractors last month to discuss the challenges confronting the road sector.

The Director of Information, FMW, Mr. ‘Bisi Agbonhin, said the meeting considered the pressure on the national budget and the country’s dwindling revenue, adding that contractors resolved to maintain some level of presence at project sites to ensure good motorable roads.

Agbonhin said, “It was agreed that the FMW would swiftly resolve the outstanding issues in order to enable the contractors to execute the various projects they were handling.”

It said the meeting was attended by not less than 10 major contractors including Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, CCECC Nigeria Limited, Setraco Nigeria Limited, CGC Nigeria Limited, Gitto Construzioni General Nigeria Limited.

Contract debts linked with revenue decline

It was learnt that government’s failure to pay the contractors might not be unconnected with non-release of capital votes and the fall in the country’s revenues.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on August 5 that the Federal Government had not released capital votes in the last 14 months.

The Presidency had told The PUNCH that capital votes would not be released until the government’s revenue generation improved.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had said that capital votes had not been released since the second quarter of 2014, meaning that in all, there had been no release of budgeted capital votes for 14 months.

Adesina said the implication was that the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan did not release capital votes for three quarters while the present administration had not released for one quarter.

He was, however, hopeful that the present administration would release the capital votes of at least one quarter this month “once the nation’s revenue increases.”

The President’s spokesman said, “Since the second quarter of last year, capital votes have not been paid. This means that the outgone administration did not pay for three quarters.

“We are, however, hopeful that revenue normally goes up mid-year. If revenue goes up this month, the government will pay for at least one quarter.”

The 2015 budget is targeting a gross federally collectible revenue of N9.78trn to be shared by the three tiers of government.

The figure when spread over a 12-month period upon which the amount is to be generated, translates into a monthly revenue of N815bn or N2.44trn per quarter.

But figures obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance revealed that between January and May this year, the country has only been able to generate the sum of N1.74trn as gross revenue.

When the actual N1.74trn revenue is compared to the budgeted target of N4.07trn that should have been earned within the five months period, it translates into a revenue shortfall of 42.5 per cent or N2.3trn.

A breakdown of the actual revenue revealed that the sum of N416.04bn was generated in January, N401.46bn in February while the months of March, April and May had N315.04bn, N282.06bn and N324.96bn respectively.